I am amazed at all the successes they are having with transplants these days….hearts, livers, kidneys, corneas, penal and even face transplants…and with all these successful medical procedures there is one that made me ask…… WTF?
Ever heard of Fecal Transplants?
First of all…EEEwwwwww!
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is an innovative investigational treatment that has – in randomized, controlled clinical trials – resolved 80-90% of infections caused by recurrent C. difficile that does not respond to antibiotics. During FMT, a fecal preparation from a carefully screened, healthy stool donor is transplanted into the colon of the patient. There are multiple routes of administration (e.g., via colonoscopy, naso-enteric tube, capsules), each of which has unique risks and benefits.
How does FMT work?
Though the mechanism has yet to be determined, it is believed that FMT works by repopulating the patient’s microbiome with diverse microorganisms that competitively exclude C. difficile.
In a healthy gut community, C. difficile is out-competed by many different bacterial species. However, receiving antibiotic treatment disrupts this ecosystem by killing those protective bacteria. C. difficile forms spores that are resistant to antibiotics. No longer outcompeted, this pathogen establishes itself in the gut and produces toxins that leave patients suffering from severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, and, often, fever. With an infusion of bacteria from a healthy donor’s stool, the C. difficile is again out-competed.
Researchers are also exploring FMT’s potential role for treating other gastrointestinal diseases, such as IBS and Crohn’s Disease.
I had never heard of this procedure…but then I am an old fart and new technology is slow to be absorbed…….what made me ask the question was this article that I read about a death from a fecal transplant……
Fecal transplants, though experimental, have been lifesaving, reports the New York Times, citing the cases of some patients who were being ravaged by “uncontrollable diarrhea” caused by the the bacterial infection C. difficile. But in one recent case, such a transplant was deadly. The FDA announced on Thursday a patient recently died after receiving a fecal transplant, in which healthy fecal matter from a donor is processed in a lab and given to a patient via an infusion or pills in an attempt to reset the intestine’s bacteria. The FDA said it was halting fecal transplant clinical trials until researcher can prove to the FDA that they have measures in place to verify the fecal matter is free of deadly bacteria. That was not the case with the patient who died.
That patient, along with a second patient, received stool from the same donor that had not been screened and developed infections. After they were sickened, testing of the donor’s remaining stool samples showed it contained multi-drug-resistant microbes: E. coli that produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. The FDA didn’t offer details on the identity of the patients, what they were being treated for, or where the transplant took place, though they did say the two had compromised immune systems and were participating in a clinical trial. Fecal transplants are typically used as a treatment for C. difficile, which per CDC stats kills 29,000 Americans yearly, reports NBC News. USA Today notes antibiotic-resistant infections kill another 23,000. The FDA emphasized all standard treatments for C. difficile should first be tried.
Just when you think that you had lived long enough to have heard everything there is….then BAM! They hit you with something like “Fecal Transplant”….
On that note I bow out for the day…….MoMo has me scheduled for a play date in the back 40……May all my Fathers have a good day………TTFN
